Monday, August 29, 2016

Throwing Stones in The Glass Houses

The famous don't always have it easier. They suffer from the same human flaws and foibles as everyone else. Two disparate cases are on view for our inspection.

Dwight Gooden, the storied baseball player brought down by repeated bouts of substance abuse, was in the news last week. He missed a media event and public speculation was that Gooden had slipped back into using drugs. Though he vehemently denied it, Gooden's behaviour, fitting the pattern of a drug abuser, is likely in trouble yet again.

Anthony Weiner, ex-congressman, brought down by repeated public sex scandals, once again was found to be indulging in the behaviour that brought his career in public service to a crashing end. His wife has announced that she will be ending their marriage.

It's easy to pass judgement on these guys and these types of cases. Personalities with the world at their feet, but unable to overcome addictive urges that only served to destroy their reputations, their families, and ultimately their lives are easily dismissed as stupid and foolish. What other explanation could there be? It's fun to feel superior to these famous "losers".

The reality is much messier. Everyday people grapple with these same psychologically destructive behaviours and impulses. These are cautionary tales, not entertainment.

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What's a Psychic Infection?

The spread of psychic effects or influences on others on a small scale, as in folie a deux, or on a large scale, as in the dance and witch manias of the Middle Ages or the spread of hysteria or panic in a crowd.*